The Mating Game
The Mating Game is an episode in the first season of Degrassi: The Next Generation. It is the sixth episode of the season and the sixth overall. It first aired November 25, 2001 on CTV and April 22, 2002 on The N Brief Summary Its time to buckle down on assignments! Don't worry, it's not all work... Dr. Sally, the local sex-ed professional, is also coming to spice things up with her own brand of education. Meanwhile, Jimmy's playing Romeo for the English class assignments. But what if Ashley's not his Juliet? Could it be a problem for Degrassi's longest-running couple? And why is Toby choosing endangered animals for his Media Immersion project? Could it have anything to do with impressing environmentalist Emma? Extended Overview Main Plot The episode opens in Ms. Kwan's English cIass. Ashley is showing Terri what she got Jimmy for their anniversary. It is a silver chain that has the letter A (for Ashley) and a J (for Jimmy). Ashley worries over whether Jimmy will like it but Terri assures her that it's perfect for him. Ashley glances at her boyfriend, who smiles back at her. Things seem perfectly blissful between Degrassi's own Romeo and Juliet... minus the double suicide attempts, of course. Ah, but English cIass is about to shake all that up. Ms. Kwan is teaching (this is school after all!) and assigns a project to help the students understand Shakespearean language. She breaks them into groups. Jimmy is chosen to play Romeo, but it's not Ashley who will be practicing all those romantic scenes with him. And it's not even Terri. Nope – it's Paige, the worst person Ms. Kwan could have chosen to pair with Ashley's boyfriend. And boy is Paige smug about it. Ashley isn't thrilled to learn she's playing the nurse, especially since Paige won't stop quoting Juliet's lines and rubbing it in her face. What a perfect excuse to steal a boyfriend. After all, Ashley, it's what Paige does best. Just ask Terri. Subplot Meanwhile, J.T. and Toby are in Media Immersion talking about the impending arrival of Dr. Sally, otherwise known as the "sex lady." Sadly, she's just there to talk to the 8th graders – no underclassmen allowed. J.T. is annoyed and no one puts it better than him. "It's totally unfair. I heard that she brings like props. And she gets graphic. As in, pornographic. Eighth graders get all the luck." While he sulks, Mr. Simpson calls the class to order and reminds them that they are to begin building a website on an animal of their choice. Emma decides to do hers on an endangered turtle from the South Pacific. As Mr. S talks about the project, Toby falls into a dream-like state, watching Emma. From his viewpoint, she appears to move in slow motion, tossing her pretty blonde hair and crinkling those beautiful blue eyes. Toby's got it bad for the girl. His daydream is interrupted by Sean who comes up to him to thank him for borrowing his notes. He snaps out of it, trying to hide his crush from his friends. In another part of the school, a group of eighth graders are talking with Dr. Sally. She is giving an embarrassing and graphic speech involving arousal, erections, unplanned pregnancies, and sexually transmitted diseases. The students giggle uncomfortably, especially when she pulls out a condom and demonstrates how to put on, using a banana as a model. Spinner decides now would be a good time to ask a question about how a couple knows when they are ready for sex, and referencing Ashley and Jimmy's relationship as an example. He doesn't mention any names but everyone knows who he means anyway because they are the only couple at Degrassi to last eight months. Sometime later Terri, Paige, and Ashley are congregated in the hallway, discussing the embarrassing sex talk they were forced to endure. Terri claims she will never eat a banana again (can you blame her?) but Paige thinks it's good Dr Sally was so blunt – after all, it's unrealistic to expect everyone to wait until marriage and they have to learn about it somehow. For once, Paige's words are as practical and logical as she thinks. But Ashley isn't focusing on logic at the moment – she's just furious with Spinner for embarrassing her by bringing up her romantic but non-sexual relationship with Jimmy. Paige questions their relationship and Ashley gets defensive, bringing out her anniversary gift from Jimmy as proof of his devotion. It's a pink heart made from clay, clearly home made. Paige isn't impressed, even when Ashley tells her "it's supposed to be his heart." (Aw! He gave her his heart!) But Paige can't help but rain on her parade. "Well, you got him a $50.00 chain, right? And he got you a hunk of clay? But, what do I know?" She smiles her fake, smug smile and walks off, leaving Ashley and Terri to stew over her words. It's lunchtime. Jimmy finds Spinner reading in the cafeteria and does a joking double take. Spinner, reading? Time to call Guinness. Spinner tells Jimmy that Juliet was a wild child, who did it with Romeo at 13. Just then Paige comes up to tell Jimmy that she's already got her lines down. One of the other guys mentions that he heard Paige got "down" with a counselor last summer at camp. Jimmy reminds them that he's taken but the others just laugh at him, pointing out that Ashley will never even let him past second base. Jimmy tells Spinner to shut his mouth but the other boy can't seem to stop. "Look, all I'm saying is, you got two diners, but only one selling fries and you've really got a craving for fries." Elsewhere in the cafeteria, Toby, J.T., and Liberty are coming out of line. Liberty offers to help J.T. with his assignment, holding up her straight "A" record as proof of her helpful quotient. J.T. rejects the offer and Liberty moves away, looking a bit disappointed. The boys join Emma, Manny and Sean at the table and they discuss their project for Mr. Simpson's class. The others are a bit startled to learn that Toby is doing his project on a turtle, since Emma already signed up to endangered turtles for her project. Toby looks a little uncomfortable with the attention but Emma is pleased that she inspired him. Toby suggests they (he and Emma) get together tomorrow night to watch a documentary on endangered species. JT is surprised… aren't they going to a movie? Toby elbows him to get him to shut up. Manny jumps in, suggesting they watch it at her place and then Emma invites Sean to join. Toby's face falls just the slightest fraction and he stares at Sean imploringly. Sean looks like he might accept but when he sees the look on Toby's face he gets it, and claims he has other plans. Toby breathes a sigh of relief. Back in Ms. Kwan's English cIass, Paige and Jimmy are rehearsing their scene from Romeo and Juliet. Ashley is sitting a few feet away, fuming silently. When Paige and Jimmy kiss, Ashley can't stand it anymore and interrupts the scene. The teacher reminds her that she doesn't come in for another half a page. She then tells the fictional couple that their chemistry is great and to take it from the top. Ashley is happy. After class, Terri tries to calm down her best friend, reminding her that it's just a homework assignment and that she has nothing to worry about. But Ashley isn't assuaged. She tells Terri that ever since they were little Paige always tried to have whatever Ashley did. "I have to draw the line at my boyfriend," Ashley insists. Terri walks off and Paige bounces up. Ashley confronts her about flirting so outrageously with Jimmy. Paige tells her to calm down – this is , not . She then hints that perhaps Jimmy's bored with Ashley and that if she were her, she'd make sure he wasn't. "Before someone with a little more came along." Zing. Paige walks off, leaving a very worried Ashley in her wake. A nervous Ashley finds Jimmy at his locker, and plants a passionate kiss on his lips. He's surprised by her ardor and Ashley insecurely worries that he didn't like it. When he tells her that he did, she quietly tells him she has a surprise planned for their anniversary. She tells him her parents and Toby will be out of the house for the night, and she's ready. You know, … for what Dr. Sally talked about. For someone so ready, she sure couldn't find the nerve to say the word "sex". After dropping that bombshell, she walks away. A surprised Jimmy stares after her in open-mouthed shock. After school, Jimmy is walking down the street with Spinner and a friend. They're joking around and playing with a basketball, but it's obvious that Jimmy's mind is elsewhere. When Spinner probes, Jimmy admits that Ashley told him she's ready to give him the "ultimate gift." He can't say the word "sex" yet, either. Seems neither of them is as ready as they'd like to believe. Spinner says it easily enough though – too bad he doesn't have a "ready" girlfriend. Spinner is proud of his friend, and suggests they celebrate this "heroic occasion" by buying little Jimmy Jr. a present… otherwise known as condoms. Jimmy looks surprised again but recovers quickly. "Condoms. Right." It's a testament to how freaked out Jimmy is that he doesn't get insulted by the "little" comment about his er… appendage. Back at the Kerwin house, Ashley and Terri are hanging out in her bedroom, looking stuff up on the computers. Comments like "French delight" and "Thai tickler" are thrown around and it takes this writer a moment to realize they aren't looking up exotic types of marijuana – nope, these are exotic types of condoms. They marvel over what can actually be found and purchased on the Internet. The discussion moves to the act itself, and Terri questions whether Ashley and Jimmy are truly ready for this step. Ashley assures her they are… after all, they love each, right? And eight months is a long time. She assures Terri her decision has nothing to do with Paige but she's fooling herself… it has everything to do with Paige and her insecurity about keeping Jimmy's interest. But Terri doesn't let up and Ashley's insecurity gets the best of her. "I can't believe I'm listening to relationship advice from someone who's never even been on a date." Terri's face crumples but she holds herself together and tells Ashley it's time she gets home. Ashley looks sorry but she doesn't call her friend back and apologize. Instead, she stares at the monitor for another moment before finally pushing the order button. It's a new day at school and Emma is in the computer lab trying to find information for her project but nothing comes up on the search engine. Toby notices her frustration and offers to help. He punches a few buttons and a slew of sites come up. Emma is impressed. Toby slips into another daydream about her but Emma snaps him out of it. She happily finds another site on turtles with lots of information but Toby just looks bored. Out in the hallway, Ashley passes by Terri and approaches her locker, which Jimmy happens to be leaning against. Jimmy starts to ask her about their plans for the evening, but Paige interrupts them. She mentions that Ashley doesn't need to come to rehearsal tomorrow, because they really don't need her there. Since the scene is all about Jimmy and Paige, anyway. She smirks and walks off. Ashley watches her leave for a moment and then turns back to Jimmy, resolutely. "We are so on for tonight." In another part of the hallway, Emma and her clique are about to head over to Toby's house to watch his DVD on endangered species. But just as they are about to leave, Liberty walks up to them and reminds Emma that she promised to help proofread this issue of The Grapevine. Emma looks torn, but she did promise. She tells her friends she'll be there in an hour. Toby watches her leave. Meanwhile, Ashley's walking in the house and is surprised to her mother is still home. A knock comes on the door and Ashley rushes to answer it before her mother can. It's the mail man, with a package for Ashley. She pays him for it COD, the door shut firmly behind her. Can't risk her mother intercepting that package! After her credit card is approved, she heads back inside and is questioned by her mom about the package. She tells her it's "girl stuff" and avoid further probing. Her mom finally gives up. At the same time as Ashley is hiding her box of condoms from her mother, Spinner and Jimmy are inside a store picking out condoms themselves. Jimmy looks nervous and it doesn't get any easier when the cashier gives him a hard time about it, offering different colors and sizes. The man finally stops harassing him and rings up his purchase. A nervous Jimmy takes his purchase and heads over to see Ashley. She opens the door, wearing a black dress that while pretty, is too old for her. How appropriate. The couple heads into Ashley's room and sit on the bed. They look more uncomfortable than strangers on a blind date. Neither seems to know where to sit or stand. And forget eye contact – they can't even look at each other. After some time, Ashley and Jimmy finally get over their initial nervousness. They are lying on her bed, kissing, but Ashley just isn't into it. She finally pushes herself to a standing position, leaving a confused Jimmy lying on the bed. Ashley rushes out of the room and gives herself a pep talk. "Come on, Ash, grow up. You can do this. Just grow up." Pep talk over, she goes back into the bedroom and in the most adult move she's made all episode, tells Jimmy that she can't do this after all. Maybe Paige is ready, but she isn't. Jimmy is surprised to hear the other girl's name and asks Ashley if she's worried about losing him to Paige. He assures her that's not the case, and they both admit they aren't ready to sleep together. After their admission, the tension immediately dissolves and everything seems back to normal between them. Back at school, Liberty and Emma are still going over the copy for the next issue of the paper. Liberty frets over small details but Emma assures her that her editorial is perfect. Liberty suggests going for a smoothie but Emma can't – she forgot she promised to help Sean with something. Liberty takes off and Emma heads to the Media Immersion room to help Sean with his project on Springer Spaniels. She's surprised by his choice of animal and Sean explains that he used to have one but he had to leave him when he moved in with his older brother. He seems sad about it, too, which touches Emma. "He was sort of dumb, you know? He chased his own tail, he was afraid of cats, but I miss him a lot." Meanwhile, Emma still hasn't shown up to watch the DVD at Manny's house, and Toby is bumming. He, Manny, and J.T. are sitting outside her house, while Toby frets glumly. He can't believe she never showed. Manny tries to balm his hurt feelings, by telling him that she probably couldn't get away from Liberty. J.T. comments that Emma is lucky she missed the documentary because it was so boring "it almost put me on the endangered list." Toby looks angry. "I rented it for her," he says. The others look uncomfortable with the admission, and Toby gets up and leaves. When Toby gets home, he heads upstairs and opens the door to Ashley's room. He finds Ashley and Jimmy playing like children with the condoms they both bought, blowing them up like balloons and shrieking in laughter. In short, behaving like the children they still are and not the adults they wanted to be. It's refreshing. Ashley sees Toby in the doorway and tries to cover for what they're doing. She and Jimmy stutter over each other, quickly fabricating a story about making decorations for the dance. Toby looks at them askance and asks them if they think he's an idiot. He picks up a condom up off the floor and warns them to put them away before their parents get home. But before he leaves, he has a word of warning for Jimmy. "And Jimmy, girls are not worth it. Believe me." With that he shuts the door and heads to bed. Ashley and Jimmy explode in laughter. Just then, Ashley remembers she never gave Jimmy his anniversary gift. He admires the chain and tells her "it's exactly what I want, Juliet." Aw. At school the next Monday, Manny and Toby are joined by Emma in the hallway. She apologizes for not showing up to watch the DVD. Toby asks her if Liberty kept her but Emma admits she ran into Sean and they started talking and well… one thing led to another, and she never got around to going. Toby is furious. He can't believe she couldn't even be bothered to call them. Emma is surprised by his vehemence, especially when he says "What kind of friend are you, anyway?" He stalks off, leaving behind an open-mouthed Emma and a knowing Manny. Emma's confused but Manny's explanation clear it right up. "Uh, he's got a major crush on you." Ah. Well, that explains it. In another part of the hall, Jimmy and Spinner are talking at J's locker. Spinner wants to know how the big night went but Jimmy admits they didn't do it. He doesn't exactly tell the truth about why, but after all, it's none of Spinner's business. Spinner offers to do something about Toby (because Jimmy blamed him for coming home early and causing "coitus interruptus") but Jimmy just gives him a weird look and declines the "help". At the same time, Ashley is explaining to Terri about what happened -or didn't happen- the night before. Terri's relieved to learn they didn't do "it". She's also happy to finally get a decent apology from Ashley for her mean remark about Terri's non-existent romantic life. They talk about how well Jimmy took it when Ashley admitted how ill-prepared she was for sex, about how much Jimmy liked his anniversary gift, and about how perfect everything is again. They are giggling like the school girls they are- and finally behaving the way young teens should, without a care in the world. Everything is finally back to normal. Issues Faced *Pre-Marital Sex *Sexuality and Youth *Honesty *Relationships *Jealousy *Crushes Category:Episodes Category:Degrassi: TNG episodes Category:Jealousy Category:Crushes Category:Sex Category:Relationships Category:Sexuality Category:Lies